Connections
by Melissa Black13
Summary: COMPLETE Part 4 of the Romy Chronicles. Remy kidnaps Rogue in order to get her to help him rescue his father. Takes place during Cajun Spice. Will have about 5 chapters. Chapter 5 is up!
1. Kidnapped

Hello! I got this out as soon as I could. This is Part 4 of the Romy Chronicles, though it will be at least 4 chapters I'm thinking. This is the only chapter I've written so far so I'm not sure yet. Anyway, I'm really glad you all like my stories so far! Makes me very happy! Lol. I hope you'll enjoy this one too. I wanted to get this out as soon as possible so it might have a lot of grammar mistakes cause I'm really tired and want to go to bed. Lol. So enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plotlines of X-Men Evolution unfortunately don't belong to moi. Also, this idea of chronicling certain events in a character's life doesn't belong to me either. Full credit goes to Deandra who writes awesome Lord of the Rings stories. I got this idea from her and I suggest you go read her stuff.

The Romy Chronicles

Part 4: Connections

Chapter 1- Kidnapped

_Brrrr...Brrr..._

Remy opened one eye blearily, slowly and reluctantly awakening. His cell phone was on his dresser vibrating loudly and yet Remy was tempted to just let it ring so he could go back to sleep. Making an annoyed noise, he pushed back his covers and swung his feet onto the cold metal floor. Only a couple people actually had his cell number so he figured it had to be important. Padding softly over to his dresser and stifling a yawn he checked the id. It was his brother.

"Remy was havin' a really good dream and it be 7 in de mornin', so dis better be impor'ant, Henri," he said after he flipped open his phone.

"It is!" his older brother insisted. "Remy, pére's been kidnapped by de Assasins!"

Remy's mouth dropped open noticeably and he almost dropped his phone. He was wide awake now. "Don't kid Remy, mon frére. That ain't funny," he said into the phone, sitting down on his bed.

"Would I kid about dis sorta t'ing, Remy?"

Remy sighed and rubbed his freehand across his face. "Non," he said finally. "No, y' wouldn't. Tell Remy evert'ing."

"Dere's no time for dat, home. Y' gotta get back down here as soon as y' can!" Henri told him, his voice filled with urgency.

"Pardonnez moi?" Remy asked him, not bothering to try and hide the incredulity in his voice. "Y' want me t' do what? I t'ought I told y' Henri. I ain't comin' back."

"But y' gotta Remy," his brother pleaded. "Pére's life is on de line! De Assasins are holding him in dere headquarters. You're de best we have when it comes t' getting inta places, petite frére. We can' get 'im outta dere wid'out y'."

As much as Remy loved to here he was the best, he wasn't placated. "Don' try an' flatter dis Cajun, Henri. It ain't gonna work. Jean-Luc prob'ly got 'imself inta dis mess, an' he can get 'imself out of it," the red-eyed thief said firmly, considering the conversation over.

Henri was persistent though, if nothing else. "Remy, he be y' father. Y' can' jus' leave 'im dere."

"He hasn't been a father t' me in years, Henri. Y' know dat," Remy reminded him.

Henri sighed audibly over the phone. "I hate t' use dis Remy, but Jean-Luc did take y' in," he reminded Remy, who closed his eyes in despair and remembrance. "He took y' in when no one else would. Gave y' a name, shelter, and a family. Don' turn y' back on 'im now, frére. No' when he needs y' de most."

Remy almost growled in anger. How dare his bother make him feel as though he owed Jean-Luc something. _After all he's made me do for 'im! Only usin' me f'r my pow'rs,_ he thought, his angry eyes downcast. His eyes. He looked up at the mirror across from him, his red eyes gleaming in the darkness of his room.

He had been abandoned as a small toddler because of his demon eyes. He remembered an orphanage once upon a time. He could still hear the older children's jeers, them calling him 'Le Diable Blanc'. Remy had never liked it there so he had run away, convince he could raise himself. At 7 yeard old, he was already a decent pickpocket. But no one could fool the Master, him least of all, which was why when he set his sights on pick pocketing a well off looking man in the French Quarter of New Orleans, he had been stopped. To make a long story short, Jean-Luc had seen his potential and invited the young orphan into his family of thieves. Henri was right. Jean-Luc had given him everything, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

"Frére?" Henri's hesitant voice sounded over the phone.

Remy let out a deep sigh and ran a hand threw his hair. "Alright Henri, y' get y' way. Remy'll be dere as soon as he can. An' listen here, I'll be expectin' a big feast from Tante Mattie when I haul pére's sorry ass back t' the house. You got dat?" he ask, getting up and pulling on the bottom part of his Acolyte uniform.

"I got it, don' worry," Henri told him, relief evident in his voice. "Y' don' know how much dis means—,"

Remy, annoyed enough with his brother for making him feel guilty, clicked the end button of his phone long enough to turn it off. He pulled on the upper part of his uniform before sitting down and deciding how he was going to do this. With Magneto gone the Acolytes had been basically free from their contracts, so he was free to do as he pleased. The question was, how he was going to find the Assassin Headquarters. No one but their own knew where it was, thought the Thieves had searched. He needed some help. Mutant help, to be exact.

Not Pyro, he thought, mentally crossing St. John's name off. The Aussie was a maniac and more likely to set fire to New Orleans then help him rescue his father. Colossus couldn't help him either. When Piotr had left for Russia, Remy had exchanged phone numbers for him if they ever needed some help, but this mission called for stealth that the giant tin man didn't have.

That left him with one option. Rogue. Remy was unashamed to say that he had been watching Rogue for some time now. At school, in town, at the park, and he had even managed to get past the Xavier Institute's security a couple times without detection. She looked so unhappy to him, which she had al the right to be after Apocalypse had used her and after what happened with Mystique. The poor girl looked like she barely slept anymore, since even her gothic makeup couldn't hide the dark circles under her eyes. Yes, the chere needed to get away from it all. An' Remy knows jus' where t' take 'er, he thought, pulling on his gloves and boots.

Remy figured he would help Rogue and she would help him. With her powers she could easily acquire the information he needed. _She can't know 'bout de rescue mission thoug_h, Remy decided. _We'll let 'er figure dat out on 'er own. Dis'll be just be like a little vacation. _She wouldn't come willingly at first though, so he needed some knock out gas. Remy smirked. How convenient was it that the boss man usually kept a nice little supply of it on the base? And since old Mags had gone and got himself off, much to the amusement of St. John, there was no one to stop him from taking some.

Slipping into his signature trench coat and grabbing his bo staff, Remy started to leave the room. At the door he stopped and surveyed the room he had been living in for the last half a year. It barely looked like he had lived there and the only sign that he had was the unmade bed. Remy shrugged and flicked off the lights. He doubted he would ever come back here.

He had joined Magneto's cause as a way to leave his life in his father's guild behind him. While Remy had never really believe in Magneto's ideas, he didn't feel that people would just accept mutants peacefully, so joining seemed like a good idea. Lately though, he had begun to feel like more of a lacky then an equal like Magneto always said they were. He had been getting ready to leave anyway when Magneto had been killed. The whole mutant terrorist deal was getting a little old for him. So now he was finally leaving.

He entered the stock room of the base and quickly found some liquid knock out gas. Taking his bo staff he opened up a little notch in it and carefully poured a small amount of it into the staff. Putting the bottle back on the shelf and slipped his staff back into his coat. Remy checked his watch. It was 7:21. Bayville High started at a quarter to 8. Remy knew that Rogue had taken to talking to school, having separated herself from her X-Men teammates. So as long as he left now he might be able to catch her before she got to school.

_And catch her Remy will_, he thought confidently, making his way to the base's exit. _And maybe, he can help de Rogue as much as she'll help him. _

* * *

Peering out from an alleyway near Bayville High School, Remy watched as Rogue and the X-Man he knew as Nightcrawler had some words before the blue furry elf in disguise turned his back on her and started on towards school. From where he was standing, Rogue looked crushed and he knew she was contemplating skipping school for the day. She had been doing that a lot lately. To Remy's luck, Rogue started to turn back the way she had come from, walking his way.

He quickly hid back in the alleyway, listening for her soft footsteps. She came into his line of view suddenly and without a though Remy reached out and pulled her into the alley. Immediately she recognized him and became angry, struggling against his hold on her wrist. "What'd you think yoah doin'?" she asked him. She was half frightened and half angry as hell.

He pulled her close, wrapping his arm around her to stop hold her still, being careful not to touch her skin. "You are way too tense, _chere_," he told her seriously, though with a small grin on his face. He leaned close to speak in her ear. "And have jus' de t'ing for y'. Somet'ing to help y' relax," he said, pressing a button on his bo staff, releasing the knock out gas.

Rogue fell unconscious almost immediately and fell to the ground before Remy could catch her. He took out some binds he had stuffed away in his duster and tied her hands behind her back and tied her ankles together. _Dis_ _is for y' own good_, chere, he told her mentally. He also took off his trench coat and wrapped her in it. The boxcar he and her were hitching a ride on was bound to be chilly. _Wouldn't want my chere to catch a cold_, he thought amusedly, picking up her limp body.

* * *

As I said last time, not all my stories are going to begin with C's. This is just a coincidence…another C word. Lol. Whatever. I hope you guys liked it. I'll try and write the next chapter really soon! Please review! It makes me happy. XD 


	2. Freedom

Bonjour all! I'm back once again! I'm sooooo glad so many people liked the first chapter. I figured it was a logical place to start and all. Thanks to everyone for reviewing! You all made my day each time I got a little thing in my mailbox saying I got a review. So now I bring you chapter 2 of Part 4 of the Romy Chronicles. It's a lot longer then any of the other parts and the last chapter. I hope you all like it!

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plotlines of X-Men Evolution unfortunately don't belong to moi. Also, this idea of chronicling certain events in a character's life doesn't belong to me either. Full credit goes to Deandra who writes awesome Lord of the Rings stories. I got this idea from her and I suggest you go read her stuff.

Chapter 2- Freedom

The ground was moving underneath her, of that much Rogue was sure of. Her hands and ankles were tied together and if she had been more aware she probably would have been panicking. At least she was warm. Something rather heavy had been snugly draped around her. She had been struggling for the last couple of minutes to open her eyes, but they were still fighting against her, thick with sleep.

As Rogue gained consciousness, she slowly remembered her last seconds of awareness. _That dirty, rott'n Cajun!_ she screamed mentally, sure that if she opened her mouth, no soundwould come out_. He kidnapped meh!_ She remembered exactly what happened now. She had just decided that she wouldn't be able to take school today and had just turned around to go back to the Institute when Gambit had grabbed her. _Lahke_ _he has permission tah put his filthy Swamp Rat paws on meh,_ she thought, still fuming.

Rogue concentrated hard trying to fully rouse herself. Her green eyes fluttered open and she took in the sight around her. She was in a boxcar, her back lying against the wall. Much to her surprise, she was wrapped in Gambit's signature trench coat. And the man of the hour was currently standing next to the open boxcar door, looking outward. Her anger at him increased ten fold as she watched him. She wanted answers and she wanted them now.

Gambit seemed to notice that his captive was boring holes into the back of his head with her glares and turned around to face her. "Aww, chére, y're awake," he said, giving her a smile that for once wasn't riddled with arrogance. Unfortunately for him, that didn't lessen her glare any. "Now, now, don' be givin' Gambit dat look," he told her, turning his back to her and facing outside again.

She struggled with her bonds a little, trying to find a way to get out of them. "I've been watchin' you for weeks, Rogue," he said after a moment's silence. Rogue felt a spark of angry shock. _What is he, a stalker?_, she thought. Gambit continued, "You're such an unhappy girl, chére."

Rogue, who was beyond annoyed and therefore not thinking straight, tried to get herself free by lunging at her kidnapper. She didn't get very far though, landing hard and awkwardly on the floor. _Well thaht was smart_, she chided herself mentally. She struggled to face Gambit. "Is it any wonder?" she asked him. "Just what d'you want with meh?" she queried, finding it to be a very valid question. She fought to stay calm as her voice cracked slightly.

Gambit of course had the nerve to chuckle at her. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, gazing down at her, amusement evident in his red eyes. "Gambit don' want nothin' from y', chére. It's what _you_ want. Gambit jus' be openin' the door for y'," he told her, gesturing to the door of the train. He was speaking in that 3rd person that both intrigued and annoyed her. _Ah mean, who does that?_

Rogue was confused though. "The door tah what?" she asked rather forcefully.

In a gesture that surprised her, before answering Gambit knelt and shifted her into a more comfortable position leaning against a crate. He looked at her for a second. "Freedom," he finally stated. "De chance t' jus' walk away," he said, motioning again to the open boxcar door. Freedom. It had been a foreign concept to Rogue. Sometimes it even felt like she was trapped in her own body. "An' Gambit knows from experience dat de firs' step is always de hardest, so he's jus' givin' you a little push," Gambit said, smiling charmingly at her.

For some reason the smile seemed to infuriate her even more. "Untie meh!" she demanded, struggling against her bonds again. If there was one thing Rogue hated, it was feeling vulnerable, and tied up like she was, in the hands of Gambit no less, made her feel more vulnerable then she ever had.

He gave her a universal 'don't worry' gesture. "I will, I will. Soon as you realize dat dis Cajun's doin' you a favor," he told her with a shrug. He turned back to the open door again.

Rogue blew her bangs away from her face in agitation. This guy was really starting to grate on her nerves. She carefully maneuvered herself so she was back against the train wall once more, and as far away from Gambit as possible. _Wherever we're goin', we bettah get there fast_, Rogue thought to herself. Feeling herself tire, probably side effects from Gambit's knock out gas, Rogue leant her head back against the wall and shut her eyes. Gambit hadn't done anything to her when she had been asleep before, so she just had to trust that he wouldn't do anything this time. What that last thought, Rogue let her sleep deprived body succumb to its need.

* * *

Rogue woke up an hour later to the sound of cards being shuffled back and forth. Opening her eyes she found that her kidnapper was aimlessly shuffling a deck of his cards. He was sitting on a crate next to her but facing the wall. Gambit didn't seem to be focusing on anything but his cards, so he didn't notice that she was awake. "Could ya stop that?" Rogue asked him aloud. 

Rogue mentally patted herself on the back when Gambit jumped at the sound of her voice. He recovered quickly though and gave her a slow lazy grin, while wordlessly stopping his fidgety hands. In place of shuffling the cards he began a game of solitaire.

She watched him for a instant. "What is it with you and cards?" she asked him with almost exasperated curiosity. He seemed to have an obsession with them.

"Well, chére," Gambit said, and Rogue rolled her eyes at the pet name. "It's like havin' 52 explosives, tucked away in one little pocket," he explained. Rogue contemplated this and was surprised to find that it actually made sense. Gambit shuffled his cards again before picking one out. "I always save her for last," he told her, holding the card out so she could see.

"Queen of Hearts?" Rogue questioned, giving him a strange look.

Gambit, being a true weirdo in Rogue's mind, kissed the card. "Mwah. My lucky lady. She's gott'n Gambit outta a whole lotta jams."

Again Rogue rolled her eyes. "Then Ah need a deck of those," she muttered sarcastically, thinking about one jam in particular that she could use help getting out of. Here she was in a boxcar on her way to who knows where with a guy who had a card fetish and had once tried to blow her up. _Whoever says normal is overrated, should try livin' mah lahfe for a day,_ she thought bitterly.

"It is nice havin' someone t' watch over y' Rogue," the red-eyed Cajun told her, now sitting on the crate next to her. Suddenly, he got down next to her. "If y're willin' t' accept my help, I can untie y'," he said, looking her in the eye.

A plan began to form in Rogue's head as she contemplated his offer. "Okay," she said finally, looking away from him so he wouldn't see the micheivious gleam in her green eyes.

Gambit smirked to himself in success as she began to remove her bonds. "It's jus' time y' take charge of y' own destiny is all."

Rogue rubbed her wrists, glad they were free, and decided to put her plan into action. "Good idea," she said coyly. It this isn't takin' charge, Ah don't know what is, she thought. He never saw her foot coming. He kick to his stomach sent him tumbling across the boxcar and almost out the open door. Luckily for him, he managed to catch himself just before he was thrown out. Rogue didn't give him a moment's breath though as she used his staff to pin his hands in place. It was time he learned not to mess with the Rogue.

"Ah don't like bein' pushed in any direction, got it?" she asked, leaning out of the boxcar towards him. Her two-toned hair whipped wildly around her face.

The fact that he was half hanging out of the boxcar didn't seem to faze Gambit. In fact, he grinned. "Point taken," he merely said. Then he began to charge up the boxcar. "Now here's mine. Pull m' in or I blow dis boxcar of de tracks," he threatened all the while grinning up at her.

Rogue contemplated him for a second. Was he being serious? Yes, she decided. He had a wild gleam in his ruby eyes that she didn't trust. An aggravated noise in the back of her throat surfaced as Rogue pulled Gambit back into the boxcar by his uniform. "You're just crazy enough tah do it," she spat, glaring up at him.

His face was close to her as he retorted, "We do what we have t', right cheríe?"

That's it! she said to herself. She went to punch him but was denied by him again. He caught her hand effortlessly. Rogue decided he either had really good reflexes or he had predicted her doing it.

As he caught her hand he slipped off her glove and pulled her bare hand towards his face. "Go ahead, chére. Gambit's not afraid. Absorb m' thoughts. See for y'self dat I mean y' no harm," he said seriously, his eyes planted on hers.

Rogue hesitated. He was the first person she had ever met that didn't seem afraid of her powers. He actually _wanted_ her to absorb him. She lifted her hand towards his face, struggling physically and mentally with herself. Did she really want to this? It would be so easy for her to do it. She settled for no though and tore her hand away from him at the last moment. Gambit intrigued her. She wanted to get to know him without the use of her powers. "Lahke Ah want you inside mah head," she snapped, pushing past him to where she had been sitting before.

"But don' y' remember, chére?" Gambit asked her, stilling standing up. He leant on his bo staff as he leered at her. "Y' already had dis Cajun in y' head."

"What're you talkin' about?" Rogue asked him, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. As far as she knew she had never absorbed Gambit.

"Aww, it wounds m' that y' don't recall our little kiss, Rogue," he said, holding a hand over his heart dramatically.

"Kiss!" Rogue exclaimed incredulously, her eyes wide open. "You better get to explainin', swamp boy," she told him, giving him a warning look. "And you bettah be quick cause I ain't a patient gal."

Gambit smirked at her. "Well chere, when y' were under Mesmero's control, y' kissed Gambit t' absorb him. Now, Gambit didin't mind de kiss at all, but y' knowcked m' out 'fore I could respond…"

As soon as he said Mesmero, Rogue's whole demeanor changed and she tuned him out. With an ache in her heart she remembered waking up hours after Apocalypse had absorbed her in the med lab. Logan and the Professor had been there to break it to her what had happened as she had no memory of it. She had realized that she had been unknowingly and unwillingly taken part in helping set Apocalypse free. And it was all thanks to Mystique and Mesmero. The thought had tore at her for days afterwards. It still tore at her now.

"Rogue?"

"It's all mah fault," the words came out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"What's y' fault chere?" Gambit asked, settling down on the crate next to her, the atmosphere having turned serious.

Rogue didn't look at him, instead choosing to watch the scenery flashing by the open door of the boxcar. "Apocalypse was set free because of meh," she finally replied, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her chin on them.

"Dat ain't y' fault Rogue," Gambit said so forcefully that Rogue looked up at him. His red eyes glowed brightly in the gather dark. "Dat was stuff beyond y' control. What could y' 'ave done?" he asked logically.

Rogue was silent and didn't answer him. She was slightly touched though that he had said that. The only people who had told her it wasn't her fault were the Professor and Logan. Hearing it from someone else made her feel better. She decided to change the subject though. The topic was likely to make her depressed and there was something that had been nagging her the whole train ride.

"What makes you think Ah was ready to leave the Institute?" she asked him, looking down at the boxcar floor.

The sound of shuffling meant that Gambit had returned to playing with his cards. "Aww, it's been pretty obvious, chere," he told her. "Besides, I heard y' talkin' t' dat Nightcrawler fool."

Ignoring the insult to her brother, who probably would never speak to her again, she focused on the other half of what he said. "You've been spyin' on meh?" she asked, looking at him out of the corner of her eye. He was looking down at her with another smirk on his face.

"No, jus' lookin' out for y'," came his smooth reply.

Rogue was startled for a moment. Why would he be looking out for her? The fact that she didn't need anyone looking out for her aside, he was supposed to be her enemy. Against her will Rogue felt her pale cheeks light up in a blush. She hastily searched for something to say. An insult or a threat. Unfortunately, all she came up with was, "So, uh, where's this train goin'?"

Gambit's reply was short. "Louisiana," he answered matter-a-factly, his voice somewhat distant.

The choice of destination caught her attention though. "Really?" she asked surprised, turning to him fully as he shuffled his cards once more.

His expression lightened as he caught her eyes once more. "I do believe dat's y're neck of de woods, ain't it?"

Rogue made sure that he couldn't see her face before she smiled. No one at the Institute knew how much she longed to be back down south. The warm weather. The food. The people. The Institute was her home, but even it couldn't replace her love for the south. She guessed that only a true southerner would understand. Maybe Gambit did. And maybe this trip wouldn't be so bad after all…

* * *

So? Was it crap? You can tell me if it was. Lol. I really hope you all enjoyed it! Anyway, I might have mentioned it before but I made a forum just for The Romy Chronicles. It's here in the Evolution page so if you guys could just check it out. It's basically for me whenever I need help and for you guys to like comment and stuff. Plus I'll come in and tell you all when I'm planning on updating or stuff about my next stories. It'd be cool if you all checked it out. Anyway, please review cause it'll be me soooooooo happy! 


	3. Games

A/N: Omg I'm sooooo sorry for how long this took me to get up! I took me forever to write because all I really want to do is write the next few parts and get this story over with. And then my family was over my house for a wedding and I couldn't type up what I had written. And now I typed it up and I'm really supposed to be doing my homework. So I'm going to make this quick. Libby k asked if I got all the stuff from the transcripts or if I just filled in the holes. Well I watched the whole episode on You Tube and typed up my own transcript for it. Then I just filled in the holes with some of my own stuff. So yeah, basically. And thanks for reviewing Libby k, you rock! Lol. On with the story!

Disclaimer: The characters and plotlines of X-Men Evolution unfortunately don't belong to moi. Also, this idea of chronicling certain events in a character's life doesn't belong to me either. Full credit goes to Deandra who writes awesome Lord of the Rings stories. I got this idea from her and I suggest you go read her stuff.

Chapter 3- Games

"Got any threes?"

"Nope, go fish, chere."

Rogue sighed and Remy mentally laughed at the look on her face. "Remind meh why we're playin' this, again?" she asked him, picking up a card from the pile.

"Well, it's a good time passer," he replied. "Got any tens?" he asked her idly. He smirked when she scowled at him and passed him her card. "And besides, y' said y' didn't play poker, so Gambit figures dis be de next best t'ing," he explained, putting down his pair of tens. _Plus I don' t'ink dis occasion would be de right place for some strip poker, _Remy thought wryly.

"Doesn't mean Ah ain't willin' tah learn," Rogue told him, giving him a defiant look. She looked down suddenly, her hair falling around her face. Remy could see the conflict in her posture. "Ah really shouldn't even be playin' with yah," she said softly.

"Now why's dat, chere?" Remy asked, setting down his cards and leaning back against a crate.

Rogue's head bobbed back up and she raised one perfect eyebrow. "Oh come on, Gambit. Yah can't tell meh yah don't see the irony of this," she said, her lips twisting into a slight smile. "First yah kidnap meh, then Ah attack yah, and now we're playin' go fish."

It was Remy's turn to grin. "_Non_, Gambit don' really see y' point," he said playfully. "Now,'s y' turn. 'Y gonna go or not?"

Rogue just looked at him before slowly shaking her head. "Yah're annoyin'," she decided, glancing down at her cards. "Got any jacks?"

He handed her a jack and she smirked triumphantly. "If I had a dollar for every time someone called me dat, I'd be more rich den I already am," he told her, smiling at the sight of her smirk. She didn't smile enough and he liked the way her eyes seemed brighter with the gesture.

Rogue made an amused noise. "Ah don't doubt it."

Remy was about to make a smart ass response but was stopped when they both felt the train slow down. "Good, we're almost dere." He started to collect his cards off the boxcar floor.

"Where is 'dere' exactly?" Rogue asked, mocking his accent and handing him her cards. "Which part of Louisiana?"

"Why de best part, chere," he told her, putting the cards inside his trench coat and pulling it on. "De French Quarter of New Orleans."

Remy could sense Rogue was trying to contain her excitement. He could relate. Despite his real reason for being here, being back in his home town would be like a breath of fresh air.

"Why New Orleans?" Rogue asked him curiously, sitting down on a crate.

"Well it be Mardi Gras and Gambit figured y' could use a little partyin'," he lied smoothly. "Thought it might help y' relax a bit." Rogue nodded as if she actually understood his warped logic. He himself didn't even comprehend it though.

The train slowed down all the way and finally came to a stop with a jerk. Remy went to the boxcar door and peered out cautiously. He and Rogue weren't exactly paying customers. Seeing that the coast was clear, Remy easily jumped out of the boxcar and onto the ground. He turned to look back up at Rogue who was still in the boxcar. "Y' comin' chere?" he asked. Holding out his arms he flashed her his most charming smile. "If y' need help, Gambit'll be more den happy t' catch y'."

Rogue gave him a none too happy look. "Ah think Ah can handle it," she told him. With that she executed a neat flip and landed behind him lightly.

"Y' certainly can," he agreed flirtatiously, eyeing her up and down. Not waiting for her to respond, he started walking across the tracks and towards the city. "C'mon cheríe. Gambit don't know about y' but he be ready for some quality southern food." _Though no one makes it as good as Tante Mattie_, he thought distantly. Hopefully after all of this was over he would sit down to a nice dinner with his family. Minus Jean-Luc of course. Maybe Rogue would be there instead.

The two of them walked silently into the city. The party was in fully swing and everywhere there were people laughing and having a good time. They passed a clown handing out beads and Remy stopped to grab a couple for Rogue. "Here y' go chere," he said, placing them around her neck, being mindful of her skin.

Though Rogue flinched for a second she didn't berate him. Instead she gave him a small smile that made his heart stop. "Thanks," she said, touching the beads lightly.

They continued walking and though it might have seemed like they were walking nowhere, Remy was subtle leading them into Assassin territory. And knowing the Assassins like he did, he know they wouldn't just let him pass by peacefully. No, there would be a fight and hopefully his plan would follow through. He just needed Rogue to start to trust him a little more. He could tell she was still wary of his intentions. Remy glanced sideways at her. She seemed to be enjoying herself, if the imperceptible smile on her face was any indication.

"Ah always loved Mardi Gras," she spoke suddenly. "No matter who yah are yah fit in."

Remy had always loved Mardi Gras too, but for a different reason. Mardi Gras had always been a special time for kids in the Thieves Guild. Tourists never suspected innocent looking children of pick pocketing so it was always profitable. Remy, his brother, and his cousins had made it into a game. A sort of 'who could collect the most money' kind of thing. Needless to say, Remy had almost always won. Except for one year when he had been sick and Tante Mattie hadn't let him go out.

Remy looked in front of him to see a bulky man walking his way. Time t' show Rogue one of m' many talents, he thought. "First time I've been here wit'out workin'," he commented casually. He purposely bumped into the guy and his quick hand stealthily grabbed the mans wallet. He apologized with a nod of his head and continued walking.

"Workin' at what?" Rogue asked curiously.

"Gettin' by," he replied, smugly holding the wallet up. He almost laughed when Rogue gave him a nasty look. He definitely wasn't happy though, when she snatched the wallet out of his hands.

"Here, yah dropped your wallet!" she called after the man. He caught it with a stupefied expression on his face when Rogue tossed it to him.

When she turned back to him she looked like she was going to reprimand him so Remy cut in smoothly. "Hungry?" he asked. He knew she must have been. After all, he hadn't exactly grabbed some snacks to eat for the train ride. "'Cause dat little jazz club has the best jambalaya," he told her, pointing across the street.

Rogue agreed with an eager nod of her head and the two set off across the street. _Y' making dis real easy chere_, he thought. He chided himself almost immediately. _Don' get 'head of y'self LeBeau._ Remy knew that no plan was foolproof.

As they entered the club, Remy led them to a cozy little table near the back wall. He knew he needed to be in plain sight so any of the Assassins would see him. Despite how anxious he was to get this all over and done with he didn't let his posture show it, sliding casually down in his seat and stretching his legs out.

Rogue looked right at home in the little jazz club and in the light Remy could really see what a beauty she was. Her gorgeous two-toned hair truly complimented her fair unblemished skin. She didn't need to wear so much make-up though. Remy thought she would look even more _belle_ without it. Plus, it would uncover her bright green eyes more. Few people probably knew that they were actually greed rather then grey. The first encounter him and Rogue had had, Remy had stared into her eyes for plenty of time to know exactly what color they were.

The thing about Rogue was, she didn't know how attractive she was. Or maybe she did and that's why she dressed the way she did. Her Gothic attired basically screamed 'Stay Away'. Of course, so did her name. Remy knew she did this because of her powers. It seemed like everything she did or didn't do was centered on her powers. Even now she was unconsciously fiddling with her gloves while looking around the club. Every couple of seconds though, her eyes would return to him along with a little nervous edge.

It was clear to Remy that Rogue was still wary of him. After all, who would get kidnapped and be calm about it? But Remy could feel her starting to come around and be more relaxed with him. _Which'll_ _make dis all de more easier_, he convinced himself. '_S for a good cause after all._

"Ah forgot how much Ah really miss these kind of places," Rogue confessed suddenly, drawing Remy out of his silent contemplation.

"Yeah," he agreed, nodding his head. "Nothin' like did up north," he said truthfully. No matter how much Remy wanted to get out of New Orleans he would never be able to stay away from it completely. It was his home. He loved the atmosphere of it. The careless, flirty, and just all around fun setting had always fitted his personality perfectly. There was no place like the Big Easy.

"So," his lovely companion started, leaning forward a bit and looking as thought she'd been waiting to ask something for a while. "Yah've always been a thief?"

Oh…dat. "Let's jus' say it runs in de family," he told her with a casual wave of his hand.

His chere wouldn't let it go though. "What? Yah mean like yoah father?" she asked, gesturing to him.

Remy scoffed lightly and looked away. "If y' could call 'im dat," he said scornfully. He put a disgruntled look on his face, but his eyes were scanning the club for signs of the Assassins. "Fact is, Gambit's gotta go see de bum some time tonight." There! There was the Prince of Assassins himself, Julien Boudereax, heading their way. _Act surprised Remy_. "Julien!" he exclaimed abruptly, standing up.

Behind him he heard Rogue go "Huh?" but he was busy focusing on Julien. "Well, if it ain't de infamous Remy LeBeau." A good came up behind him and grabbed him and another did the same to Rogue. "Hey, watchi it!" she warned angrily, struggling against him. _Yeah, get y' hands off m' chere_, Remy though before realizing that had been the plan all along. "Dis is jus' saves m' de trouble o' huntin' y' down," Julien finished, extending his bo staff and preparing to swing it.

Before he could, both Remy and Rogue flipped their opponents over their shoulders. Rogue's luckily went flying into Julien, knocking him onto the floo. Sensing another thug behind him, Remy extended his own bo staff and neatly spun around, tripping the guy in the process. Remy noticed Julien starting to get up but before he could do anything Rogue grabbed his staff. "Can Ah borrow this?" she asked needlessly as she was already starting away with it.

In the next moment, if Remy blinked he probably would have missed it, Julien was sent hurtling out the closed door by Rogue. Walking slowly to the door Remy leaned against the door frame and crossed his arms, staring down at the crumpled form of Julien amusedly. _Now dere's sometin' y' don' see everyday, _Remy mused.

Rogue came walking out a second later and handed his bo staff back. "Thanks," she said, keeping an eye on Julien.

"Anytime," Remy replied. He actually meant it too. _Watchin_' _dat fille work is m' new favorite t'ing t' do_, he decided. So preoccupied was he with watching her, Remy forgot about the other three Assassins. One came and rammed him in the back, knocking him to the ground. The guy had him pinned to the ground when Rogue came and kicked him off. _Chere is very good at what she does._

Seeing the other two thugs come towards him, Remy charged a nearby parking meter. _Here goes not'ing_. Luckily the meter exploded and sent a wave of hot coins at the two who were knocked down. Remy grinned with satisfaction. His triumph was short lived though when he someone came up and tackled him from behind. He was then slammed into the wall and turned around to face his assailant. It was Julien of course. The Prince of Assassins winded up to punch him when he suddenly collapsed with a goofy smily on his face. And there, with one glove off, stood Rogue.

For a moment she looked fine, but she suddenly stumbled and put a hand to her head in pain. What is she seein'? Remy wondered. She had her eyes cosed tightly but opened them when he cautiously approached her. She gasped and looked at though she didn't know who he was. He mentally sighed in relief when her eyes lit up with recognition.

Remy noticed a couple of the Assassins starting to get up and decided that since they probably had all the information, it was best to make their exit. "Time t' go," he told Rogue, reaching out and grabbing the beads around her neck. He charged them up before quickly ripping them off her and flinging them in the direction of the Assassins. Each one exploded, effectively knocking them all out.

He turned back to Rogue who was pulling her glove back on. No sooner had she, when Remy grabber her hand in his and started dragging her way from the scene. He pulled her a couple of blocks before suddenly ripping her hand away from his. _Alrigh_'_, here it comes_, Remy thought, turing to face her. After all, she had absorbed Julien. She was bound to get some dirt on him. '_Course, as long as she got where they be keepin' Jean-Luc, it be fine._

Rogue's face was flushed with irritation and she looked a little worse for wear after the short fight, but Remy couldn't help but stare. "Alright, I got a dose of info from that lug," she said, glaring up at him, her eyes fired up. She pointed accusingly at him. "Yah're part of some crim family called the Thieves Guild?"

"'Was', not anymore," he informed her. _Now LeBeau, it's time t' be de great actor I know y' can be._ "Gambit's sorry y' got involved with dat Rogue," he said solemnly, turning and walking away. It wasn't exactly a lie. He was sorry that he had to get his mixed up in this. She had been used enough. _I'm not usin' her,_ Remy tried to convince himself. _She jus' helpin' m' unknowingly._

As Remy thought she would, Rogue followed him. "And this Julien," she continued. "He's from a rival family?"

"The Rippers," Remy answered swiftly, naming Julien's own private group of Assassins. He decided that, although she probably already knew they were Assassins, there was no need to freak her out. He stopped walking and turned back to her. "Look, t'anks for y' help, really. But now, Gambit's gotta go take care of some stuff." Reverse psychology. It always works. He'd make her think he didn't want or need her help and she'd come running. He started away from her again.

Rogue would not let him go though. "Why didn't yah tell meh they kidnapped yoah father?" she asked finally.

He halted again and faced her. "Because y' don' need anymore troubles," he said, looking deep into her eyes before turning away again.

She didn't carry after him this time. "What're yah gonna do?" she called to his back.

"Go get 'im," Remy replied over his shoulder. He shrugged pitifully and continued on his way. "Soon as I find out where he is."

Rogue had no response to that it seemed. Remy walked on until he reached the nearest corner. There he quickly put his back to the wall and peered back around the corner at Rogue. She looked confused and seemed to be lost in thought as she stared out at the Mardi Gras floats. Finally, after a couple nerve-wracking moments for Remy, Rogue looked as thought she had made up her mind and started in the directions he had taken. "Dats right, cheríe, come on," he muttered under his breath.

He began walking down the street again to make it seem as if he had been doing that the whole time. Remy grinned at a passing woman, feeling as though nothing could go wrong now. That is, until he spotted a rather out of place costume in the crowd. _Merde_, he swore mentally. The leader of the X-Men was certainly not a welcome sight at the moment. And Remy knew that where one X-Men was, the other were surely not far behind.

He backtracked quickly, coming across Rogue in his path. "Ah need to talk to you," she informed him quietly. Luckily she had her attention focused on Remy and didn't see her teammate behind him. He wordlessly ushered her across the street and into a deserted alleyway. "What's the matter?" she asked, obviously noticing him attempting to be discreet.

"Uh," Remy tried to come up with something quick. "I jus' don' want y' t' be seem with m'," he told her. "It's dangerous." That much was true. He was basically a sitting duck out here in Assassin territory.

Rogue got straight to the point. "Listen, Ah know where they're keepin' yoah father," she said, looking up at him with her big green eyes.

Remy tried not to let a satisfied look come over his face, instead donning a surprised one. "Y' do?" he asked, leaning closer to her. "Where?"

"Blood Moon Bayou," she replied instantly. "But you'll never get past their sensors and water mines so Ah'm goin' with yah," she continued, almost daring him to contradict her.

Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed over Remy. She was so willing to help him, to totally disregard the consequences and the fact that going into the Assassin hideout was basically suicide. He should have never involved her in this. He quickly made a decisions. He shook his head at her. "No, no, Gambit'll manage on his own," he told her, turning away and hoping she would stay put for once.

Her voice stopped him. It was laced with desperation and regret. "Gambit, Ah had the chance to do somethin' like this before and Ah didn't. Ah need tah do it now."

Slowly he turned back to her and was immediately trapped by her beautiful eyes. They pleaded with him and though he knew it was wrong he was loather to deny them. He looked down at the ground. "Alright," he finally conceded. Remy hoped she would never find out his true intentions in bringing her here. She would probably never forgive him. He would have a hard time forgiving himself.

* * *

I feel like this chapter was so long and drawn out. Blehhhh, I really can't wait until I can right the next part. Not the next chapter but the next Part. The next chapters going to be long and drawn out to. Lol. Chapter 5 will be good though. Yeah I bumped this up to 5 chapters instead of 4. Anway, tell me what you think! Please review! Thanks bunches folks! 


	4. Betrayal

A/N: Again, I'm horribly sorry about the lateness of this chapter. Between now and the last update I had school finals and work to deal with but now that I'm out of school updates should be more frequent. I also feel like this story is just dragging so I'm trying to get it over with as fast as possible. Lol. That aside, I did put a lot of work into it trying to get the characterizations right and all that jazz so I hope you all enjoy.As usual most of the stuff is from thetranscript of the show. All the stuff leading up to the part where shetells him to veer to the right, is actually mine though. XD Enjoy!

Disclaimer: The characters and plotlines of X-Men Evolution unfortunately don't belong to moi. Also, this idea of chronicling certain events in a character's life doesn't belong to me either. Full credit goes to Deandra who writes awesome Lord of the Rings stories. I got this idea from her and I suggest you go read her stuff.

Chapter 4- Betrayal

Rogue was sure she had never been more uncomfortable in her life. The humid bayou air made everything sticky and her clothes clung suffocatingly to her body. The stench of the swamp overwhelmed her senses so she could hardly breathe without gagging. The fact that the silence on the small motorboat was so thick she could have cut it with a knife only added to it. Gambit had been eerily quiet since he had agreed to let her help him. Plus, he had a look in his red-black eyes that Rogue had seen before but couldn't quite place.

"Cat got yoah tongue, Cajun?"

His devil eyes immediately focused on her as she turned around fully to face him. "Nope, just t'inkin' cheríe," he said, maneuvering the boat out of the way of some roots. His lips smoothed into a smirk. "T'anks f'r y'r concern, though."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Don't get yoah hopes up, swamp boy. Ah was just wonderin' why yah're so quiet all of a sudden, that's all. What were yah thinkin' about?" she asked after a moment, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"Y' really wanna know?"

She nodded after a moment's hesitancy.

Gambit cocked his head sideways, studying her. "Why, Gambit was t'inkin' about y', _chere_."

Rogue blinked, mystified at his blunt answer. "Meh?" she repeated. She looked out across the bayou shyly, tucking a stay piece of white hair behind her ear. "Why meh?"

"Bein' completely 'onest, Remy finds y'…intriguing, f'r lack of a better word," he said, locking eyes with her. For one second Rogue felt the same pull she had the day they had first met. And then the moment was broken as she turned back around facing forward, feeling her pale cheeks light up. Whether it was with embarrassment or anger, she really wasn't sure.

"Why?" she asked softly, staring off into the jungle of the marsh. "There's nothing special about meh." _Ah'm just a freak among freaks_, she thought cynically.

"Y're not a freak, Rogue," Gambit protested, making her cringe. _Did Ah just say that out loud?_ "Y' just can't let y'r powers continue t' dictate y' life."

Anger coursed through her at his last statement. Here she had been thinking all along that he understood her and that he was different then everyone else who told her that her powers didn't make things hard, that she was the one making things hard. People just didn't understand. "Don't tell meh what Ah can and can't do, Gambit. Yah don't know what mah powers are lahke, what Ah have tah live with everyday. Yah may think yah know but yah have no idea," she said with a finality she hoped would quiet him. Unfortunately, it seemed it was she who had said the wrong thing this time.

"No idea? Y' t'ink I have no idea Rogue?" The serious tone of his voice making her turn to look back at him. "Y're lookin' at de guy dat was called _Le Diable Blanc_ f'r de better part of his childhood. When m' powers manifested I couldn't touch anyt'ing wit'out it explodin'. T' dis day I still got the scars on m' hands. So don't tell m' I don't know."

Their bodies tense and their eyes locked, Rogue and Gambit gazed at each other for what seemed like forever, until finally Rogue's eyes dropped down. "Ah'm sorry," she said with a shuddering breath, too ashamed to look back up.

Across from her, the tension slowly left Gambit's body. "S'alright cheríe," he assured her, steering the boat along. "Y' didn't know and Gambit's de forgivin' type."

Rogue gave him a small smile which he reciprocated before she turned around. Silence reigned on the boat again but with less tension then before. Suddenly, a vision flashed across her mind. An underwater mine up ahead.

"Uh, veer tah the right," she directed, leaning forward and peering into the murky water.

Gambit complied. "Nice," he complimented.

A couple seconds later Rogue felt like breaking the silence again. she had wanted to know something for a while. "So, all this trouble and Ah thought yah didn't lahke yoah father," she commeted as casually as possible.

"I don't," he answered automatically. "Just cause someone adopts y', doesn't make'em a parent."

Rogue could relate to that. "Yeah," she agreed outloud, closing her eyes briefly.

"Mystique?" Gambit guessed. "Y' mean, it wasn't her 'motherly instincts' dat led her t' take y' in?" he joked humorlessly.

"Let's just say, it was may powers she wanted tah nuture," she replied quietly, shifting some tall reeds aside. Rogue was surprised with herself. She'd never felt comfortable discussing this with anyone else before. No one at the mansion could ever understand what with was like for her to be used by Mystique. Not even Kurt.

"Y' and Gambit could write a book about it," Gambit mused as she turned to look back at him. His eyes were dim and he spoke with a bitter tone. "Been down de same roads."

"Difference is yah're here tryin' tah save yoah father," she couldn't help but point out, staring out into the bayou jungle morosely. "That's more then Ah did."

How many months had it been since that night at the gazebo? More then half a year Rogue knew. And yet, the clear image of Mystique falling over the clif stayed so fresh in her mind, it was as if it had happened yesterday. That night she had become a killer, no matter what the Professor, Logan, or anyone else said. Mystique had used her countless times, something Rogue would always resent; but still, she hadn't deserved what Rogue had done. No one deserved that kind of punishment.

Gambit wisely chose to keep silent, to which Rogue was grateful for, and for the next couple of mintues the only words that were spoken were directions from rogue on avoiding the water mines. She looked ahead of them and was suddenly hit by another memory.

"We're almost there," she informed Gambit. "Head under those roots, it's the only safe way," she told him, pointing with one gloved finger. "They'll have lookouts too, so we've gotta be careful."

"Gambit's always prepared chere," her companion said behind her. "Dis boats only a decoy. We gotta get in de other boat in a sec."

Rogue nodded and continued to keep watch. Soon the familiar yet unfamiliar(if that makes any sense at all) mansion came into view. "Okay, now!" Gambit signaled, and he climbed into the inflatable boat quickly, turning to help her in. He hurriedly untied the two. While the motorboat kept going the inflatable boat stopped. Only seconds later a loud blast sounded and the motor boat was up in flames.

A bit shaken Rogue turned to Gambit who had an oar in hand. "Close call, oui?" He grinned at her before turning his attention to rowing.

Rogue settled herself down in the boat trying to slow her rapidly beating heart. As quick at he could, Gambit maneuvered the boat to the nearby dock where Rogue pulled herself up. She heard Gambit follow closely behind her and the two silently crept up the dock, towards the mansion.

Making their way up the dock without incident Rogue and Gambit took refuge behind a large oak tree. Looking over at the mansion from behind the tree, Rogue was calculating the easiest route in when she was bombarded by one more image from Julien's psyche. A security camera. With dread in the pit of her stomach she turned and found the camera attached to the very tree they were hiding behind. Her breath caught in her throat as the camera began to rotate in their direction.

She didn't hesitateas she turned to a surprised Gambit. "Get down!" she whispered urgently, lunging at him, effectively knocking them both over and sending them hurtling down the hill.

As they came to a stop on level ground below the mansion, Rogue lay still, her eyes closed, letting her body adjust to the shock of the moment. She felt Gambit stir at her side, felt him rise onto all fours, looking down at her. Opening her eyes, her attention was drawn to Gambit's hand, which rested next to her face, and before she could say or do anything, he shifted his hand, his uncovered fingers coming into contact with her cheek. She felt the familiar pull of her powers, saw the shock in his red eyes, and watched as his unconscious body fell to the ground next to her.

Suddenly, everything became clear to her as his psyche invaded her mind. The reason why she was here, his intentions the whole trip, were at the forefront of her mind. She had been used again, there was no denying it. After all the talking they had done, after the moments of understanding they had had, he had still used her. She stood and looked down at his motionless form and felt the deepest sense of betrayal. She had trusted him and he had proven to be just like everyone else.

Rogue heard him make a noise and realized that he was coming to. She stood over him, feeling anger like she had never felt swell up hin her. He opened his eyes and Rogue pounced. "How dare yah!" she snapped, grabbing his trench coat and straddling his body.

"What happened?" he asked, smiling confusedly up at her. _As if yah don't know_, Rogue thought angrily.

"Yoah thoughts are in mah head. Ah know everythin'!" she informed him, glaring at him heatedly. "Yah played meh!" she finally said, trying to keep her voice down but barely succeeding. Pushing him back down she got off him and started away.

"Rogue," he started feebly, but she didn't want to hear what he had to say. No doubt he'd probably just try to sweet talk her or use his charming power that she now knew about. He'd done it before.

"Ever since yah put meh on that train it's all been a part of some plan," she whispered harshly, crossing her arms and looking out over the bayou. Tears welled up in her eyes and she closed them trying desperately to hold them back. She would not let him see how upset she was.

Rogue heard him sit up. "Let m' explain," he pleaded wearily, still fighting the affects of her powers. She refused to listen though.

"Yah knew yah'd run into someone from the Rippers at that jazz club," she accused, turning to face him as he stood up. "Yah knew they'd come after yah. And yah knew Ah'd use mah powers tah help yah because yah wanted meh tah absorb information," she said, speaking softly but relentlessly, the look in her green eyes fierce.

Gambit seemed to deflate from his usual confident self. He spread his arms out in a helpless gesture. "'M sorry, Rogue," he said simply, and sincere as it was, Rogue's fury did not diminish.

"Yah used meh. Just lahke everyone else," she choked out, irritated at herself as her voice caught. Her hands were clenched into tight fists now and she gave him one last hurt look before turning her back to him and walking out into the fog.

"M' father's life was at stake!" Gambit called to her back, in a last desperate attempt to explain himself, but Rogue barely heard him as she stalked as far way from him as possible.

She reached the bayou bank and sank down onto the ground, wrapping her arms around her legs and staring out over the swamp but not really seeing it. In her mind, Gambit's memories played over and over again. His brother Henri's phone call. His plan to kidnap her. Him steering Rogue towards the jazz club knowing fully well who'd they meet there. Him doubling back to make sure Rogue followed him. She was then surprised to see Cyclops in the crowd. She felt his panic as he tried to make sure him and Rogue didn't see each other. Finally she felt his hesitance at her insisting to go with him, even though it was the one thing he really needed.

With Gambit's added memories, her mind felt more jumbled then ever. Part of her, the more rational part she supposed, knew that while Gambit's actions didn't speak favorable for him, his heart was more or less in the right place. He was doing exactly the opposite of what she herself had done. Instead of ignoring his brother's desperate plea to help their father, Gambit had, albeit reluctantly, come to his aid. And while Gambit had indeed used her to secure his success, Rogue could tell plain as day that the last thing he had wanted to do was hurt her. While this didn't make Rogue's anger dissipate, it did cause her to soften a bit.

A sudden memory, one not of Gambit's, swarmed in her mind. Various security cameras located around the Ripper's Headquarters. And while Rogue knew that Gambit's thieving skills cause him to have a sixth sense about those kinds of things, she also knew that his mindset at the moment was to get in as quickly as he could and get Jean-Luc out the same way. He surely wouldn't be focused on avoiding the cameras. The question was, could she forgive him enough to care?

* * *

_Merde_, Remy swore, watching Rogue stride off into the fog. He closed his eyes briefly, struggling to quell the regret he felt at having used this girl who had been used too many times already. _What an asshole y' are LeBeau,_ he thought idly, sighing in frustration. He looked towards the mansion with an angry gaze. Besides blaming himself for this, Remy also blamed Jean-Luc. His father probably wouldn't even be surprised to see him; probably wouldn't even thank him. It would be just like him to expect to be rescued. _An' jus' look at y'rself LeBeau, y're still planin' on savin' 'im,_ he thought bitterly as he started carefully towards the house. Because no matter how much Remy wanted to leave him here amongst the Assassins for all the grief he was causing, most notably right now with Rogue, a part of Remy still felt terribly indebted to him. 

He opened a side door and studied the dark hallway he was suddenly in before proceeding cautiously. Keeping his bo staff at the ready, he crept down the hall towards where he could see light. The light turned out to be an empty kitchen. Spotting a couple of empty cans, Remy picked one up, realizing that his signature cards would be too much of a giveaway.

Exiting the kitchen, he came across a corner in the wall and peered around it. At the end of the hallway, two men were guarding a door. Remy's instincts told him that that was where Jean-Luc was being held. He charged the soda can in his hand and rolled it towards them. They looked down at it confusedly for a second before it exploded in their faces, knocking them both out. Remy shook his head. _Marius sure knows how t' pick'em, _he thought, making his way past them and to the door.

Grasping the handle, he turned it and pushed the door open, his eyes immediately settling on his father who sat tied to a chair in the farthest corner of the room. Surprise registered in Jean-Luc's features along with a cocky smirk.

"Remy. What're y' doin' here?" he croaked, looking entirely too smug in Remy's opinion.

Remy bent down to charge the binds on his hands. "I've been askin' m'self dat very question," he replied callously.

"Y' actually came back. I thought y'd walked away from dis life," Jean-Luc said, ignoring Remy's harsh tone.

"I did, 'M jus' here f'r you," Remy reiterated, starting to walk to the door. Someone was bound to have heard the explosion.

"Even after all I put y' through," Jean-Luc stated, sounding amused, fueling Remy's irritation.

"Don' get any ideas, Jean-Luc," he retorted, shutting his eyes. "Nothin's changed between us. Now let's go!" he snapped impatiently. Here he was trying to save Jean-Luc's life and he was stalling for some reason. Something was holding Jean-Luc back from leaving and Remy didn't think he would like it.

"Wait a minute!" his father commanded, making Remy sigh exasperatedly and turn back around.

"What?" he asked through clenched teeth.

Jean-Luc edged closer to him. "We in de heart of de Assassin's stronghold! Do y' know what an opportunity dis is?" he asked, grinning in anticipation.

"F'rget it, we outta time, pére," Remy told him, turning away again and motioning Jean-Luc to follow.

"Remy, listen t' m'!" Jean-Luc pleaded. "Let's raid dis place and do some real damage. We can ruin de family," he whispered clandestinely.

Remy put his hand on the door and looked down. Here was the part he knew had been coming. "Y' don' need m' f'r dat."

"No, I don'," Jean-Luc agreed. "But I do need y' powers," he told Remy bluntly, resting a hand on his shoulder in what might have been a comforting gesture were the circumstances different.

_M' powers. Dat's all I am t' y',_ Remy thought sadly. "I was right. Nothin' has changed," he said. _Well, Remy ain't helpin' y'_. _Not dis time_. He pulled away roughly, heading out the door, not caring if his father followed or not. The sound of boots against the floor informed him that he was following but before they could get very far, the last two people Remy wanted to see appeared seemingly out of no where.

"Well, well, dis must be father-son day," Marius Bordereaux said, looking very smug. At his side, his son Julien held a large bazooka and looked ready and eager to blast Remy and his father to the moon. For the second time in less then 15 minutes, Remy swore. _Merde._

* * *

Sooooooo...how was it? Lol. I swear we're nearing the end! Please don't kill me but I'm bumping this up to 6 chapters now instead of 5, which was instead of 4. Yeah I know, I'm very indecisive. If you want to seen the episode Cajun Spice, I suggest you go to and look up the member queenofpaper who has uploaded all of the Evo episodes including this one. Oh, and as always, review, review, review! See you next chapter! XD 


	5. Rescue

A/N: I'm a horrible person! Lol. I swear I was going to get this chapter out before I went on vacation but I couldn't. Sorry! Anyway, thanks so much for reviewing the last chapter. Special thanks goes to libby k cause she's just sooooo awesome. You are too nice to meI swear! You were totally reading my mind though when you reviewed cause at that point I was sad cause i had only like a couple reviews. :( You cheered me up though. Lol. Thanks soooo much. Now, I hope you all like this chapter. It'sexeptionallylong and wasespecially hard towrite for me. I only added little things here and there that differ from the episode. Anway, please puhhhh-lease review! XD

**Disclaimer:** The characters and plotlines of X-Men Evolution unfortunately don't belong to moi. Also, this idea of chronicling certain events in a character's life doesn't belong to me either. Full credit goes to Deandra who writes awesome Lord of the Rings stories. I got this idea from her and I suggest you go read her stuff.

Chapter 5- Rescue

If it weren't for the fact that Julien looked mighty trigger happy, Remy figured the situation wasn't as bad as it could have been. His father was as skilled a fighter as he was, maybe more, though Remy would never tell him that. So he was more then ready for whatever the two wanted to throw their way. Needless to say, having expected no less then the equivalent of a bar brawl to occur between the two patriarchs and sons, Remy was more than a bit shocked by the arrival of Rogue.

An angry snarl came over Marius's face as he pointed back to the room Jean-Luc had been held captive in. "Get back in dere!" he snapped.

So focused on Remy and Jean-Luc were they both, Marius and Julien forgot to look after themselves. Suddenly, the two Assassin's faces contorted and they crumpled dazedly to the floor. And in their places stood Rogue, her ungloved hands held out before her. Remy had never been happier to see her, though the look on her face suggested she was less then thrilled to see him. He understood. He hadn't been forgiven yet.

"Let's go!" Rogue said urgently, turning her back to them and starting to pull on her gloves.

Remy looked down at the ground. He felt ashamed of himself. Here he was having used Rogue for his own agenda and she was still willing to help him. He didn't deserve it.

Behind him, Jean-Luc sounded both amazed and intrigued. "Y'mean, she do all dat, with jus' de touch of a finger?"

"F'rget it!" Remy told him, sweeping after Rogue who moved comfortably down the hall.

Up ahead, Rogue was sliding her last glove into place as she peered around the corner of the hall. Remy made to move up behind her when suddenly a shot was fired from around the corner. He jerked away and rolled to the opposite wall just in time to evade a shot coming from behind them. Remy gulped. He hadn't taken the time to analyze any exit routes when he had entered the building. _Y'getting_' _sloppy, LeBeau_, he thought idly, crouched down low to avoid the shots being fired at them from both directions.

Beside him, Rogue noticeably tensed up and her eyes widened distantly. When she suddenly popped up off the ground, the look in her eyes was hard determination. "This way!" she told them, heading through an opening even Remy's sharp eyes hadn't noticed.

"How she know?" Jean-Luc asked, sounding stupefied.

"Trust m'," Remy said, getting up from his crouch and turning to follow Rogue. "She knows."

As the three of them ran down the corridor, Remy spared a glance outside. It was getting real windy out, something that rarely happened this time of year. Something was going on and Remy had only an idea of what it could be. All he knew was that the cards had been dealt and for the first time he wasn't sure they had the winning hand.

* * *

Rogue was vaguely away of Gambit and Jean-Luc running behind her, so intently focused on finding the correct exit for them. This turned out exactly as Gambit had planned. She was helping them escape utilizing the knowledge she had stolen from Julien and Marius about the house. The look of surprise on Gambit's face when she had shown up suggested that he never thought she would be rescuing them. Rogue herself was having a hard tie with it. She was still furious with Gambit for even thinking he could use her. Part of her knew though, that small portion of her anger came from Gambit's own psyche. He was mad at himself for using her and that in turn fueled her own temper. 

Rogue knew that she had another motive for coming back. She was looking for redemption. Leaving Gambit alone in the mansion with who knows how many Assassins would be doing the same thing she had done to Mystique. From what she knew, he was more than capable of handling himself, but she knew the layout like the back of her hand at the moment. She needed to do this.

Ahead of them, Rogue spied the exit she wanted to take. Suddenly though, two men appeared, blocking the exit and holding guns. Rogue halted in her tracks, throwing out both her arms to stop Gambit and his father from going further. She was glancing around quick to see if there was another way when the whole house started to shake. Rogue's eyes darted around cautiously. In front of her, the two thugs looked confused and started edging away from the door. Without warning, the door was ripped off of its hinges and a strong wind engulfed the room causing Rogue to fall to the ground. She watched in a mix of alarm and amazement as the house was being ripped apart. As the wind suddenly shifted into a more concise shape, Rogue realized immediately what was happening, especially when the whirlwind gathered the two thugs and pulled them up and away.

Rogue made her way to the destroyed exit and suppressed an big grin at the sight of Storm hovering above the house. Beside her, Jean-Luc looked up at the weather witch in awe.

"Dat woman can control de weather?" he asked.

Rogue motioned to her. "Meet _mah_ family," she said proudly. And they were her family, not necessarily through blood but they were her family nonetheless. And she had never been happier to see them.

Unfortunately the reunion would have to be postponed as they were still trying to escape. The three of them started forward but shots from the roof interrupted them. Rogue ducked down cautiously looking up. Three floors above them a man held a blaster. Then, in a puff of familiar smoke, Nightcrawler appeared, looking every inch the protective brother he used to be.

"I'll take this!" Rogue heard him say, before teleporting away with the man's gun. She felt a strong rush of affection for Kurt at that moment. Never had she been so glad that he was her brother.

Above her, Gambit urged them on and Rogue stood up out of her crouch. The three of them rushed towards the dock, knowing that the only way out of there was by boat. Fire reigned down on them from the veranda but was quickly taken care of by Wolverine.

Rogue's heart beat erratically in her chest as she ran, knowing the Assassins wouldn't hesitate to harm her. From what she got by absorbing the two Boudreaux's, the Assassin's mentality when faced with a situation such as this was shoot first, ask questions later kind of thing.

Reaching the boats first, Rogue hesitated before one, but Gambit jumped right in, taking the controls. "No time t' lose, _cherie_," he told her, starting up the boat.

Rogue nodded, jumping down into the boat and taking the passenger seat. Beside them, Jean-Luc hurriedly untied the boat from its place at the dock before hopping into it himself. Seconds later, Gambit peeled away from the dock and the three of them went racing across the bayou. Rogue looked back t see Cyclops covering them with optic blasts before jumping into a boat Wolverine was driving. Unfortunately, three Assassin boats were also following them, and Rogue noticed a fully recovered and furious Julien controlling one.

"They're followin' us!" she yelled to Gambit over the sound of the motor. He nodded distractedly, steering the boat efficiently through the maze of the bayou. Suddenly Rogue saw something in the water ahead. "Watch out!" she warned, pointing out the water mine to Gambit.

He swerved hard causing Rogue to hold on to her seat. She heard an explosion behind them and turned to see one of the Assassin's boats sinking as a result of hitting the same water mine Gambit had just avoided. The other two Assassin boats were right on their tail though. Gambit tossed several charged cards, which seemingly appeared out of nowhere, back to the two boats, but the cards failed to hit their target. As Wolverine drove the X-Men's boat up alongside theirs, Cyclops blasted a tree handing above the swamp, causing a log to fall on the front of one of the boats, jettisoning its two occupants.

Julien never faltered though, and sped right past his fellow guild members. In an instant he had his bazooka raised and fired a shot in their direction. Instead of hitting their boat though, it hit the X-Men's. Rogue gasped as it tipped over but luckily, Nightcrawler managed to port Wolverine and Cyclops away. Rogue immediately directed her attention back to Julien. Both Gambit and Julien dodged several water mines before Julien pulled up parallel to their boat. He fired another shot and missed again. He pulled up behind them and fired. Another miss. Suddenly, he came up beside them again and, perhaps exceeding his patience level, rammed into them.

Rogue struggled to hold onto something, anything, but the speed boat tipped over, spilling her, Gambit, and Jean-Luc into the murky bayou. The water was warm and thick, and Rogue kicked her legs quickly, running out of air fast. Finally she surfaced, taking deep breaths. Gambit and Jean-Luc surfaced around her giving her a moment of relief. The moment didn't last that long. Making their way towards them and snapping their jaws loudly, and hungrily, Rogue though, were 2 large alligators. Rogue started to panic and began swimming away. She couldn't swim that fast in the swampy water though, and the gators quickly gained on her. Suddenly, Nightcrawler appeared and grabbed onto her, safely teleporting her onto dry land, where Jean-Luc had also crawled up on. Rogue gave a sigh of relief, smiling slightly at Kurt, who smiled back. Then she remembered that Gambit was still in the water.

Gasping, she turned back to the bayou where Gambit was a sitting duck in the water as Julien, still in his boat, circled him. Turning back to Kurt intent on telling him to port out to Gambit, she stopped mid turn as she heard a loud explosion. She jerked her head to where Julien's boat was now in pieces and Julien himself now swam in the water.

The wind around Rogue began to pick up as Storm created a whirlpool in the water. Gambit managed to swim out but Julien was trapped inside. Storm picked him up using the wind and carried him away. Probably back to the destroyed Assassin Headquarters, Rogue thought.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Gambit haul himself out of the water. He paused for a second to catch his breath but it seemed that that was a second too long. Wolverine towered over him and by the look on Gambit's face, he knew he was in trouble. Rogue cringed as Logan jerked Gambit up by the front of his trench coat.

"You've had it, bub!" Logan told him, slamming Gambit into a nearby tree. His claws came out and Rogue was sure he would have diced him into little pieces if she hadn't stopped him.

"Logan, stop!" she practically commanded. Both Wolverine and Gambit turned to look at her, making her feel self conscious. Why had she stopped him again? Really, he did deserved anything Logan wanted to dish out for all he had put her through. But still… "Please, leave him alone," she finally said.

Logan looked back at Gambit. Rogue couldn't see his face but she was sure he was giving Gambit a threatening look, though the waterlogged thief's expression betrayed nothing. Finally, Logan growled and, albeit reluctantly, retracted his claws, letting Gambit drop to the ground. "I'm gonna want some answers, Rogue," he warned, shouldering past her.

"You'll get them," she assured him, but looking towards Gambit who was ringing water out of his coat. "Everythin's okay." She walked to her Cajun kidnapped slowly, suddenly feeling very anxious. What would he say to her?

Gambit looked up as she approached. "Rogue," he started to say, but Rogue stopped him. She didn't want an apology at the moment. She didn't really know what she wanted.

"Don't," she said, tugging at the top of her shirt, giving her hands something to do. "Yah just did the wrong thing for the raght reasons." And he had. Using her had been as wrong as he could have gone, but even she couldn't deny that using her to save his father was as good of a reason as any. Make no mistake about it though, she was still ticked off. Rogue looked moodily across the bayou as there was a moment of strained silence between them.

"So, what now?"

Rogue turned back to him sharply. What did that mean? It sounded like he was laying out her choices in front of her without verbalizing them. Stay with him or go back to the mansion. And while the first choice intrigued her more then she knew it should, Rogue knew there was only ever one choice. "Ah'm goin' back with the X-Men," she told him, aware that they were all probably watching her and Gambit. "Ah don't care what you do," she said indifferently, turning away from him.

"Sure y' don't." He came up behind her and when he spoke she could almost feel his smirk. _Arrogant little swamp rat_, Rogue thought, though lacking any real edge, and looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

Suppressing a sigh, Rogue knew it was time to say goodbye. "Well, Ah better go," she said quietly, starting to walk away.

Nothing could have surprised her more when she felt his hand grasp hers. He gave her gloved hand a gentle squeeze. "Y' will be fine, _cherie_," he told her in an uncharacteristically serious voice. She half turned to look at him. "Y' got people watchin' over y'."

And then suddenly he was letting go of her hand and walking away. Vaguely, she was aware that she was clutching something in her hand, but she couldn't bring herself to look away from Gambit's retreating back as he and his father strided off into the fog. Would she ever see him again? She couldn't stop the hope that she would. There was just something about Gambit. Something that set him apart from anyone she had ever met. Suddenly she remembered he had slipped something into her hand. She looked down. A card.

"Hey, you okay?" Kurt asked, coming up next to her.

She flipped over the card the red-eye Cajun had left in her possession. The Queen of Hearts. _I always save her f'r last_, he had told her that morning on the train. _M' lucky lad_y. And he was giving her to Rogue. _Maybe mah luck'll change afterall,_ she thought, sighing. "Yeah, Ah think so," she answered, looking to her brother.

Kurt gave her a small smile and Rogue came to the happy realization that he had forgiven her for what she did to Mystique. And while Rogue still couldn't quite forgive herself, it was a start.

Kurt put his arm around her and for once, Rogue didn't flinch with the contact. He led her to where Logan, Storm, and Scott were waiting, Logan looking more than a little impatient. He opened his mouth to say something to Rogue but Storm cut him off.

"No, Logan," she said sharply. Logan's gaze jerked over to her. "Rogue's had a trying day. Anything you have to ask or say to her can be addressed in the morning," she told him, ignoring his unhappy growl.

Rogue shot Storm a grateful smile. Listening to Logan lecture was the last thing she wanted at the moment. No, all she wanted now was to go home. Somehow Gambit, without him knowing it most likely, had opened her eyes to the fact that she had a family at the Institute. People who cared about her enough to chase her halfway across the country. That morning she had seriously been thinking about leaving Bayville, convinced that no one would miss her. But the X-Men had proven her wrong. She would have to thank Gambit one day. If she ever saw him that was. As Rogue followed the 4 of them to where the X-Jet was, she had a funny feeling that they would meet again.

* * *

A/N: The End! At least, that's the end of this Part, Part 4 if you've forgotten by now. I think I said I had two more chapters but I decided I wanted to start Part 5 with what I had in mind. Anyway, please review and let me know what you think. Also, I know I've advertised it before but I made my own forum for these Chronicles and I'd love for you guys to come chat with me there or whatever. Alrighty then, review, review, review! XD 


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